Rsggiwg-stretcher



(No Model.)

H. 11. PICKENPACK.

RIGGING STRETGHER. No. 311,605. Patented Feb. 3,1885.

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H. HENRY PICKENPAGK, OF BROOKLYN, NEW' YORK.

RIGGINGHSTRETCHER.

SPECIPIICATION forming part of Letters Patent'No. 311,605, dated February 3, 1885.

KApplication tiled October 23, 1884.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, H. HENRY Preken- IACK, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State `of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rigging Stretchers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,rand to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of devices for securing the rigging of vessels in which the end of the shroud is made fast to an efe tended perforated metallic plate adapted to be inserted between two perforated platesl united and made fast to a chain-plate or the side of the vessel, the central plate being confined between the other two by means ol' belts lcdthrough such ot' the perforations as are brought into register.

HeretoforeV the proper register of the perforations to admit ofthe insertion of a retaining-bolt through the three plates has been attained either by the aid of a capstan or windlass or by means of a screw-jack consisting of two heads made to engage the single shroudplate above and the double plates below, and which are drawn together by means ofserews, as may be found describedin the Letters Patent to Smith and Fludder, No. 38,9l9, dated June 16, 1863, while to facilitate the registry of the holes and attain the same with a comparatively slight movement of the central in terposed shroud-plate the intervals between the holes have been made longer in the -cen trai plate than in the outer plates, as is shown in the English Patent No. 281 of 1854.

The object of my invention is to improve upon these devices, so as to admit of a greater range of movement in the overlapping securing-plates than is possible when a central plate is made to interlock with a forked plate or f two outer plates, and to provide thereby for tightening theV shroud or rope, so that it may be stretched perfectly taut by the unaided et` (No model.)

platesone made fast to the end of the shroud or rope, and the other hinged to the chainplate or other fixed stationary support in such manner as to allow the ends ot' the upper plate, as it slides over the face of the lower plate,to pass over and beyond the ends of said lower plate, the two being prevented from springing apart by a clasp or guide-strap made fast to the one plate to overlap the edges of the superim posed plate. By this means the shroudplate may be carried down beyond the end of the lower plate, to project over the chainplate, if need be, so that much shorter plates may be used, which becomes very desirablein View of their rigidity, while all the advantages of a double connectingplate to receive the shroud-plate are attained in simple form by the strap or straps connecting the two overlapping plates.

1t consists, moreover, in the arrangement ofthe superimposed plates with reference to each other and to a differential series of holes inl the two, the upper shroud-plate-which slides over and upon the front or outer face of.

the lower plate hinged to the chain-plate being perforated at wider intervals than said lower plate, whereby a pointed bar inserted that they may overlap far enough to admit ot' the insertion of a lever, of a ange formed on the upper end of the upper draw-head, to strengthen the same and steady its hold upon the shroud-plate, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation in perspective, illustrating a`4 ships shroud madefast by myinvention; Fig. 2, a side view of the same; Fig. 3, alongitudinal section illustrating the mode of applying` the tightening-levers; Fig. 4, plan views ofthe two continingplates detached, illustrating the differential holes therein; Fig. 5, an elevation of the two plates in combination with a screweoupling adapted for drawing them together ZOO until they overlap, to permit of their engagement by the tightening-levers; and Fig. 6, a

side view of the plates provided with a loose slide and adapted to be hooked into eyes in 5 the rope end and in the chain-plate.

A A' represent two extended plates, each perforated with a series of holes adapted to come into register when the plates are superimposed one upon the other. One of these plates, A, is connectedl at one end by a piv- Yotal joint with the chain-plate B on the side of the ship, the joint being formed either by means of an interposed shackle, as represented at C in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or` preferably, and with short plates, by means of a hook, D, (see Fig. 6,) to permit the end ot' the superimposed plate A to slide freely b v and beyond the joint. The second plate, A', is secured at its outer end to the end of the shroud S in any suitable manner-as, for example, by means of a deadsheave, E, inserted in a fork or bracket, F, at lthe end of the plate, and around which the rope is led and made fast, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Although not essential, I prefer to combine with the plates A A clasps G G, Figs. 1, 2, and 4, secured to the edges of one of the plates to overlap the sides and partially the outer i'ace of the opposite plate, so as to permit a free longitudinal movement of the two and yet retain them face to face, and these clasps may be united in one as a strap iitted to one plate to embrace the other. A loose strap, G', Fig. 6, adapted to slide and fit snugly over the superimposed plates and confine them face to face, may be employed as an equivalent device. When the two plates A A' are brought together and superimposed, so that any two ot' the holes. therein shall register, they may be secured and the rope made fast by means of a bolt, H, qled transversely through the two plates. (See Figs. 1, 2, and 6.)

To facilitate the stretching of the shroud, the number of perforations within a given length is made greater inthe movable shroudplate A, which is attached to the rope S, than in the iixed plate A-as, for example, the plate A may, as is represented in the drawings, be perforated with six holes, and the plate A' with but tive, in the same direction; hence, when the plates are superimposed and any two of the holes are in register, as at a, Fig. 3, the remaining holes in the one plate, A, will be partially covered by those in the superimposed plate, A', thus affording an opportunity to obtain a leverage upon the outer plate by means of the fulcrum afforded by the upper edge of one of the holes in the under plate, as at a, Fig. 3, for the end of a lever, K, which is inserted through the corresponding hole, n, in the outer plate. rlhe lever K thus inserted may then be brought to bear on the lower edge of said outer hole,` n, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. ln said Fig. 3 the lever K, which may consist of a marline-spike or any long sharp-pointed iron bar, is represented as just inserted through the narrow opening formed by the overlapping of the two holes my n, the point of the lever iinding a fulcrum or point of support against the upper 7o edge of the hole m in the fixed plate A. and a bearing upon the lower edge of the hole a in the movable plate A', so that by bearing down upon the outer end of the lever a very powerful purchase is obtained upon the plate A', to 75 draw it down over the plate A. rIhe result of this movement is illustrated bythe position of the lever K in the drawings, which is represented as having been drawn down far enough to permit the insertion of the second lever, K, 8J into t-he holes m nl After the lever K has in turn been forced downward as far as practicable, the lever K is removed and inserted into the opening, which will thereupon be .presented through the holes r s. Thus, with the two levers, the shroud may be gradually tightened and stretched to the utmost with entire ease. vVhen the shroud is properly lightenerdgxim it is made fast and held by passing a bolt, H,

through the two holes in the plate which may 9o be in perfect register, as at a, Fig. 3.

In the use of the leverage-plates A A for stretching or tightening up new ropes or wire rigging, in which there is considerable slack to be taken up, the need of very long leverageplates is avoided by using draw-heads L L and threaded rods M M (see Fig. 5) for taking up the slack and drawing the vplates A A' in position to overlap. The long screw-rods M M are adapted to turn loosely in the lower roo draw-head, L, and to pass freely through the upper head, L. The lower draw-head, L, is provided with a central hole, by means whereof it is readily bolted to any one of the apertures in the xed leverage-plate A. The upper draw-head, L', is constructed with a iiange,

R, projecting from its upper edge .at right anglesto its face, and this flange is notched centrally to permit it to embrace the shroud above the grommet or the dead-sheave at the end 11o thereof', and thereby obtain'a hold upon the rope, as illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. By screwing up nutsTT upon the ends of the screws M M the draw-heads are drawn together until the plates A A' overlap sufficiently I I 5 to permit of the insertion of the lever K, as shown in Fig. 6, and the setting up of the shroud is thereupon completed by the use of the levers K K', the draw-heads L L being detached and removed. Thus, by means of x20 the draw-heads and the leverage-plates, any shroud or rope may be set upon with perfect ease, and all necessary tension thereof obtained by one man alone. p Briefly recapitulated, the advantages of my I 2 5 improvement, in which two simple perforated plates--the one movabl y secured to the shroud and the other fixed and made fast to a chainplate or other point of support, and in which the perforations in the-movable plate are at wider intervals than those in the fixed plate* are so superimposed as that the movable plate may not only slide over and upon the underlying fixed plate, but be free to pass beyond the ends of said underlying plate, are, first, that comparatively short plates may be used with all the advantages of the long plates, which are required where a single movable plate is made to pass between two fixed plates; second, that the movable plate may be drawn or set up and the shroud or rope connected thereto be tightened by means of pointed levers, affording a powerful leverage; third, by the use of said levers the conning-bolts admit of being more readily and quickly detached to permit a separation of the plates than has heretofore been possible, thereby et" fecting an important saving` oftime upon lighters and other boats, where it is required to frequently set free vthe sh ronds and make them fast again in the loading and unloading` ofthe Craft.

I claim as my invention* 1. lIhe combination. with a single plate hinged or pivoted to a fixed support, of a second single plate secured to the loose end of a shroud or rope, each plato being provided with a series of ooltlioles, and one of them with a clamping plate or plates projecting from its edges, to overlap the edges ofthe other when the two plates are superimposed, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. rThe combination, with each other and with the loose end of a shroud or stay-rope and a fixed support for the same, of a single plate attached to the fixed support by a pivotal connection and perforated longitudinally with a series of holes, and a second single plate secured to the end of the shroud or stayrope to slide over and overlap the ends of theV first plate, and which is pierced with a series of holes perforated at greater intervalsapart than are those in said first plate, to provide thereby a fulcrum for` a lever inserted through one ofthe outer holes into the underlying hole to move said sliding plate, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

3. In a device for stretching and securing` the shrouds of a vessel and other stay-ropes, consisting of a single perforated movable plate secured to the shroud or rope to overlap a second fixed plate secured to the chain-plate or other fixed support, draweheads adapted to be made fast to the fixed and movable perforated plates, and screws for drawing said heads together, a notched flange, R, projecting from the upper draw-head at a right angle to its face, to strengthen and stay the same, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

H. HENRY PICKENPAGK. lVitnesses:

A. B. MOORE, JOHN A. ELLis. 

